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"For [the mantra] to be effective, you must say it very clearly; one mantra recited with perfect sound has more power than a hundred mumbled indistinctly. Each syllable should be articulated cleanly, clearly, and smoothly, with a uniform rhythm and pitch. It should not be slurred or irregular, with some phrases fast and others slow, or some syllables high and others low." - Lama Zopa. Becoming Vajrasattva : the Tantric Path to Purification. Wisdom Publications. p.85

"the mystery of speech - to recite the mantras in secret, pronouncing them distinctly without making the slightest error” - Kūkai. 'Benkenmitsu nikyō ron' in Hakeda, Major Works, p.220

"Sanskrit is a complex language, with 52 letters; the only way to accurately transliterate all these letters into the Roman system - that used in English - is to use diacritical marks. Although this methods creates headaches for both the writer and the printer, it is worth pursuing in the case of the tantras because an inaccurate transliteration of a mantra will weaken it's power" - Meditations on the Lower Tantras : From the Collected Works of the Previous Dalai Lamas. Compiled and edited by Glenn H. Mullin. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 2004. (colophon)[NB: Sanskrit has 50 letters and adding diacritics is no longer a headache for either writer or printer! - Jayarava]

The Perfectly Enlightened One’s mantras
Are made up of syllables, names, or clauses;
Like the statements made by Indra
They are meaningful and effective- Kūkai. 'Shōji jissō gi' in Hakeda, Kūkai:Major Works, p.238.

"The mantras, however, are mysterious and each word is profound in meaning. When they are transliterated into Chinese, the original meanings are modified and the long and short vowels are confused. In the end we can get roughly similar sounds but not precisely the same ones. Unless we use Sanskrit, it is hardly possible to differentiate the long and short sounds. The purpose of retaining the source materials, indeed, lies here."
- Kūkai. Shōrai mokuroku. Hakeda. Kūkai: Major Works, p.144

Jayarava's Calligraphy on Flickr

Nāmapada. A guide to Sanskrit and Pali names used in the Triratna Buddhist Order. Definitions and etymologies for almost 500 words and affixes. Background on the Sanskrit and Pali languages and relevant points of grammar and morphology.